Benefit of the Doubt
by Hitsuchan12
Summary: Throughout Amestris, military buildings and warehouses are being attacked by a group of terrorists. Edward didn't plan on getting involved, but when he meets a mysterious man on the street, he unknowingly gets pulled into a whole plot filled with hate, betrayel, and revenge. Who is this man? Why is he here? And how exactly is he related to Colonel Roy Mustang?
1. Chapter 1

Author's note~

Finally! I actually stopped being a lazy moron and wrote my first fanfic! And my evil twin said it couldn't be done!

Evil twin- *reads chapter 1* That's great for you but you still rushed it.

Me-...I know... *sits in emo corner*

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist nor will I ever. FMA belongs to Hiromu Arakawa and Square Enix and possibly someone else I forgot to mention.

* * *

_Benefit of the Doubt_

_Chapter 1: Like Twins_

The sun climbed high above the clouds, radiating a bright, magnificent light. Far below the endless stretch of sky, the residents of East City went about their daily business. Summer was just around the corner and preparations needed to be made for the long, hot season. The conversation between two friends here, the laughter of a child with his brand-new toy there. Yes, this city was as bright and lively as the sun above. It is here, in the heart of East City, that our story begins...

* * *

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE COULD USE A CUP AS A BATHTUB!"

The sound of a shoe connecting with flesh was heard as the people walking past the small café stopped to see what the commotion was about. The café door swung open and a short, blond kid stepped out, radiating an aura that screamed murder. A few seconds later, a large suit of armor followed. After shooting a quick apology over his shoulder, the armor ran after the kid.

"Brother, why would you do that?" Alphonse Elric yelled down at the kid.

"Shut up, Al. It's not like I seriously injured the guy," retorted Edward Elric, Alphonse's older(?) brother.

"You made his nose start bleeding!"

"Only a little."

"It was gushing from both nostrils!"

"Oh well! The jerk deserved it for calling me a pipsqueak!" Edward seethed at the memory.

"All he did was suggest that you have some milk so you can grow taller! He was giving you advice!"

"It was an implication! And he was trying to poison me with that nasty cow-juice! He thought he could get away with it but I sure proved him wrong!" Edward let out a triumphant laugh as Alphonse sighed.

'That's Ed for you,' Alphonse thought as he listened to Ed continue his rant. Edward, age fourteen, was in permanent denial about his height. He wasn't short. Everyone else was just freakishly tall. However, nobody other than Ed himself seemed to understand this.

Suddenly, while Ed was lost in his own thoughts, he smacked into a man who happened to be walking their way, causing Ed to land right on his behind.

"I'm sorry there, little guy," the man said as he reached out his hand to help Ed up.

This hand was quickly pushed out of the way as Ed jumped up and, once again, began to rant.

"I'M NOT LITTLE, YOU BLIND MORON! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M STILL GROWING?" Edward screamed at the top of his lungs, gaining the man and two brothers quite a lot of unwanted attention.

The man stared, shocked, for a moment or two. Then, terrifyingly familiar smirk spread across the man's face.

"I'm really sorry about knocking you over. I was just unable to see you since you were so dwarfed by everyone else."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A DWARF!"

Alphonse sighed once more as he walked around, trying to disband the crowd that circled the pair.

Ed glared at the man, pouring his heart and soul into the most evil look he has ever given. The man, however, just looked at him with amused eyes and continued to smirk. Ed's glare diminished as he took in the man's physical features. A gasp escaped his lips when he got a full view of the man. When Alphonse looked over to see what his brother was so shocked about, he too gasped.

Edward rubbed his eyes for a second and looked up. Upon seeing the same thing he saw earlier, he turned to look at Alphonse.

"Hey Al. Is it me, or does this guy look like..."

"There's no doubt. He looks exactly like him!"

This "him" the brothers were referring to was Edward's commanding officer, Colonel Roy Mustang. And Al wasn't lying when he said this guy looked like the colonel.

The man had black hair and dark onyx eyes, which seemed to have a slightly Xingese look to them. He was average sized (perhaps a few inches short) and had a rather muscular-looking body. The only difference between the colonel and this guy was that the man standing before them had his long hair pulled back into a ponytail that reached about mid-back. The smirk (the same infuriating smirk that Mustang wore whenever Ed was around) left the man's face and was replaced by a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?" he asked the brothers.

"Umm...well, you kinda look like someone we know," Alphonse replied, being the first to break out of his stupor.

"Yeah! It's like you two are twins!" Ed said in amazement.

The man smiled sadly as his eyes suddenly gained a far-off look.

"I do have a twin brother. The reason I'm here in East City is because I'm looking for him. I haven't had contact with Roy for sixteen years."

Ed and Al looked at each other, then back at the man before them.

"Oh. So your brother's name is Roy?" Ed asked, deciding to play along. He had a feeling where this was going.

"Yeah that's right."

"You don't mind me asking what your name is, do you?" Alphonse asked now.

The man shook his head and held out a hand to the brothers. "Kade," the man said as he smiled. "My name is Kade Mustang."

* * *

Authors note~

*Still in emo corner* This chapter really did turn out a lot more rushed and crappier than I originally imagined. It probably sucks DX (Excuse my low self-confidence. This _is _my first fanfic.)

Well, looks like I finally got this first chapter done. This was a random plot-bunny that hopped into my head a while ago. I only now decided to do something about it.

Although this is supposed to be mainly focused on Roy, I'm intending on having Edward and Riza (and possibly Hughes and Havoc) as pretty important figures in this story.

Criticism will be respected and flames will be used to roast marshmallows. For everyone who will continue reading this story, I hope you enjoy it. *bows*


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note~

...I hate writing...

Disclaimer: No no. Unfortunatly, I do not own FMA or any of the characters.

* * *

_Chapter 2: Together Again_

"_You little half-blood brat!" the man screamed as he threw the nine-year-old onto the ground. He delivered a kick to the young child's stomach. "Do you think that you're better than everyone else, you greedy little bastard!?"_

"_I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The kid cried out as the man kicked him over and over. He knew that his pleads would get him nowhere but he did it anyway._

_It's not like he did something terrible. He only took a small piece of bread for him and his brother. Their breakfast was stolen by the other kids that morning and the orphanage didn't serve lunch. They would've had to wait until it was dinnertime to eat. And last night, the same kids also took their dinner. The twins were both starving and they needed just a little something to keep themselves going. That's why Roy had attempted to take the bread that was left lying on the table by some other kid. He tried explaining that to the man, but he didn't appear to be listening._

_Other orphans and employees stood around, watching as the man beat the boy. However, nothing was said or done. In fact, Roy could swear some of them were smiling and snickering. _

"_Leave him the hell alone!" Roy heard someone say. He looked up in time to see Kade, his brother, push the man away, causing him to fall. Kade sat down in front of Roy and began to shake him._

"_Roy? Roy! Are you okay!? Speak to me! Come on, say something!" Kade yelled into Roy's face. Roy felt a brief pang of annoyance when his brother continued to yell, not giving him a chance to speak. Moron. _

_The man got up and looked angrily at the two kids in front of him. How dare those brats make a fool out of him. He grabbed both of the boys by the hair and began to drag away._

"_Because of your little performance back there, you both are going to the Punishment Room!" The man spat out as they neared a room at the end of the corridor. _

_The man, Gary Wilson, called it the Punishment Room. The twins called it hell. Whenever a kid acted up, Gary would take him or her to this room and beat them. However, the truth was that Gary would never lay one abusive finger on a pure Amestrian child. Therefore, the only kids ever subjected to the torture that goes on inside that room were the Mustang twins. Roy wondered what the punishment was going to be this time. Maybe Gary will burn them with the ends of his many cigarettes. Or maybe they would be whipped with the whip that Gary owns (God knows how he got it in the first place). There were a bunch of other unique punishments the twins vowed to never speak of out loud._

_Today, it was the whip. _

_When Gary was done taking all his anger out on the boys, he would then lock them in a nearby closet and leave. This was most effective on Roy. The first time they were locked in the dark closet, Roy had discovered quickly that he was both claustrophobic and nyctophobic. Despite all the times that they were locked in this closet, Roy never got over his fear. In fact, it might have grown worse. The minute Gary left, Roy felt himself begin to hyperventilate. The sting of the whip began to fade as hysteria started taking over._

_Kade heard his brother's change in breathing and reached out to him, ignoring the pain his movements caused. He grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, whispering meaningless words as Roy began to scream and sob. They clung to each other like their lives depended on it because the only thing both of them truly had was each other._

* * *

"Wake up, Colonel!"

Roy's eyes snapped open and he looked around quickly, pulling on his gloves. His frantic head movements slowed when he realized that it was only Lieutenant Hawkeye waking him from his deep slumber.

He yawned sleepily as he took his gloves off and turned towards Hawkeye.

"Jeez, Lieutenant. One would think that all of Drachma was attacking the city from the way you screamed," he joked. Hawkeye sighed and looked at him sternly.

"This is no time to joke, Colonel. This issue of yours is beginning to get way out of hand. That was the third time you fell asleep today." Behind Hawkeye's emotionless mask was a deep concern for Roy. Some say that the concern comes from loyalty. Others say it comes from love. Hawkeye wasn't actually sure which one it was. She just knew that there was _something._

"I'm fine lieutenant. I'm just having trouble with falling asleep at home."

"Ishval?"

"No. Before that. When I was a child."

For the last week or so, he has been having problems sleeping due to nightmares. However, these weren't the normal nightmares of Ishval. Those came frequently and over the years, he has learned how to deal with them. The nightmares he's been currently experiencing were new. These ones were memories of the time he spent in that hellhole of an orphanage when he was a child.

Since this was new, he hasn't really been able to get use to them. Due to his lack of sleep, he has been constantly been falling asleep at work. Not the best thing, especially if you have a job like his.

Hawkeye seemed surprised by this. She knew little of his past. Of course, she knew of the orphanage he lived at, but Roy never got into much detail about it. She also knew he had a twin brother named Kade, but he talked even less about him. It seemed to be quite a touchy subject for Roy. Hawkeye only know Kade was sold into slavery by the orphanage and was taken down south. He was probably smuggled across the border and into Aerugo. Roy never saw him again.

As far as he knows, his only true family is dead.

* * *

Edward walked down the halls of Eastern Command with his brother at his side. This was a normal sight, though the Elric brothers were far from average looking. However, this time, it was different. Instead of it being the usual duo, it was a trio. Behind the brothers was a man that looked strangely familiar to many of the soldiers that happened to be in the hallway.

Ed listened to their whispers as he and the other two passed by.

"Is that..?"

"I thought I saw him pass by earlier…"

"Look at the ponytail. It must be someone different…"

"Is this some kind of a joke?"

Was this a joke? Ed was still trying to figure that out. This was pretty unbelievable. It wasn't everyday that you learn your jerk-ass superior officer has a twin brother. In all honesty, Ed didn't know whether to be fascinated or scared as hell. One Mustang was hard enough to deal with. If Kade is anything like his brother, then Ed will be out of the country before either one of them could even utter "pipsqueak".

Although the whispers continued as they neared Mustang's office, Kade seemed to be totally unaffected. He just stared straight forward with a determined yet hopeful look.

Finally, they reached their destination. When Ed opened the door, he saw the members of Mustang's team (not including Hawkeye) gathered around the door that led into the inner office. The men didn't seem to hear the door open and continued to whisper amongst themselves. Havoc had out some paper and a pen and seemed to be writing something down.

"Okay. What do you say, Breda?" Edward heard him say.

"2000 cenz says that it'll happen within a month."

"What'll happen?" Alphonse spoke up.

The men looked up and grinned.

"Hey there, boss. How's it been?" Havoc asked, not noticing the man in the doorway.

"Glad to see you two haven't killed yourselves yet." Breda joked. "We were just betting when the First Lieutenant and the Colonel will finally stop the professional act and kiss each other."

Ed felt himself choke.

"Wha-Wha-What!?" he sputtered. "Lieutenant Hawkeye and _Mustang_!? She would never fall for an idiot like him!"

"But we can see it in their eyes!" Fuery piped in. Falman nodded.

"You mean you don't see it, brother?" Al asked quizzically.

"You guys are clearly delusional," Ed replied. "Mustang and Hawkeye," he mumbled to himself and shook his head.

"But brother! It's the same look you and Winry have around each other!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, AL!? THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN ME AND WINRY!"

Al rolled his eyes while the rest of the group began to laugh. However, the laughter stopped abruptly when they noticed the figure that still stood awkwardly by the door.

"Ed? Who's your friend there?" Havoc asked with wide eyes, the ever-present cigarette slipping out of his mouth.

"Well…he's…umm…you see…..he's Mustang's twin brother," Edward quickly said, rubbing the back of his head.

"WHAT?!" came the shocked reply from the four men standing before him.

The door to the inner office swung open and Mustang stepped out, soon followed by Hawkeye.

Mustang was _clearly_ not amused.

"What is going on out here!? I swear, the next time I hear a loud noise come from this room, I'll-!" The threat broke off suddenly when onyx eyes met onyx eyes. Mustang took in the sight of the person that stood on the other side of the room. If you cut off the man's ponytail and change his civilian clothes into a military uniform, it would be like looking into a mirror. They even had the same expression. Wide eyes and mouth agape.

'No way…There's no way! It can't be him! It can't be…' Roy said rapidly in his head.

"Roy…?" Kade breathed out.

"Kade," Roy replied in a similar manner.

'No…it…it…it is him. He's alive.'

Roy's eyes suddenly narrowed and he stalked across the room, nearing his brother. When there was only a foot's distance stood between them, Roy lashed out, his right hand striking Kade across the face. He registered Havoc and Breda giving a surprised "Whoa!" and Ed calling out his usual "What the hell!?", but Roy ignored them. The only thing that mattered was that Kade was standing right in front of him.

"Have I ever told you that you're a complete moron?" Roy said bitterly, glaring at his long-lost twin. Kade stared at him for a second and finally gave a large smirk.

"All those years ago, you would say that on a regular basis. And if I remember correctly, I would reply by calling you an annoying brat. I guess some people never change."

Roy and Kade glared at each other for a minute before breaking into the loudest, most joy-filled laugh that has been heard all day.

* * *

Author's note~

Me- Hello Desk! Meet Head! -insert epic headdesk of the century-

Evil Twin- You're not good at updating your stuff, are you?

Me- Yeah, I'm not the fastest updater. But I refuse to abandon this story! I WILL NOT GIVE UP!

Evil Twin- You say that now...

Me- Shut up, you. Anyway, reviews are appreciated and flames will be used for my fireplace.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note~

Me- What's this?! Another update!?

Evil Twin-...who are you and what have you done with my twin?

Disclaimer: If I owned FMA, I wouldn't be here, now would I?

* * *

_Chapter 3: The Past is Past_

Roy walked into his kitchen and pulled the scotch out of the cabinet. Normally, only one glass would be needed, as he lived alone. This time, however, two glasses were filled. He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, passing one of the drinks to the man sitting next to him.

"So, what took you so long to find me?" Roy said as Kade accepted the drink. Kade shrugged and put the drink down.

"Hate to tell ya this, Roy, but finding you wasn't exactly one of my highest priorities. I had more important things in life I had to tend to," he replied, faking exasperation.

"Is that so? Then I guess I won't hurt your feelings when I tell you that I forgot that you existed two days after you left. I think that's when my life started getting better," Roy said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Of course, none of that was true. Both brothers missed each other terribly and would do anything for the other. Nevertheless a little teasing never hurt anybody.

"You sure have changed over the years, Roy. If you were anything like the brat you were back then, the sight of me would've made you burst into tears. I was not expecting a fist to the face," Kade said, chuckling.

"Well, I can't be weak my entire life. After everything I've experienced, I guess I just became hardened." Roy wouldn't really call that a good thing. Innocence is a virtue, a virtue he lost a long time ago.

"I see what you mean," Kade said, nodding. "Do you still have those phobias of yours?"

Roy gave a small but visible finch.

"I'm not afraid of the dark anymore, but I still have claustrophobia. I don't think that's ever really going to go away."

Kade frowned and looked at Roy, all amusement leaving his eyes.

"I see. I have another question. Why exactly are you in the military?" Disdain was clear in his voice, though not directed at Roy himself. "Don't you remember what those bastards did to our family? What they did to Liliana?"

Roy sighed and shut his eyes, painful memories threatening to resurface.

"Liliana wouldn't want to you to hold a grudge, Kade," he told his brother. He really didn't want to talk about this right after being reunited with him. "Anyways, you know full well that the military weren't the ones who killed them. It was the civilians."

"The military could have prevented it! They knew it was going to happen. It was inevitable!" Kade hissed out. "Did you know that the bastards who did it weren't even put in jail? They got let off with a damn warning! And for your information, one of the men there was a military dog on his day off!"

Roy slammed his drink down, silencing Kade.

"Considering what we are, I think we should be grateful that the military came at all!" Roy said, his voice rising.

"Oh yes! I'm so grateful that the they sat back and watched as our family got murdered in cold blood!"

"They saved us, didn't they?"

"Yeah, to make themselves look good! 'Amestrian Heroes Save Two Xingese Children From Death'! Makes quite the cover story, no?!"

"Kade…"

"They didn't even bother looking at father's will. If anything ever happened to our parents, we would be put in the direct care of Aunt Chris! Tell me, Roy. Where did we end up?"

"What're you going to do about it?! That was twenty years ago, Kade! Your anger won't change anything! The past is past. Liliana isn't coming back, no matter what you do."

"I thought you of all people would've understood me, Roy."

Both twins glared at each other, not saying a word. This was not how they planned this night to go. Roy finally looked away and took a big gulp of his drink.

"Do you have any place to stay for the night?" he asked once the burning sensation in his throat went away.

"Yeah. I'm staying at a hotel with a friend of mine." Kade answered. He then broke into a grin. "It's much better than staying here with an annoying brat like you."

"Good, 'cause I wasn't offering."

Kade laughed and stood up, walking towards the door.

"I'll stop by tomorrow. See ya later," he said, exiting the apartment.

Roy watched as his brother left, thinking 'That moron still has the drink with him'.

_The twins were quite a naughty pair. Of course, they're only eight years old. However, they seemed to always do the exact opposite of what they were told. That's why, when they heard unfamiliar voices coming from the parlor, they just had to sneak downstairs and investigate. Who needs sleep, anyway?_

_They peered around the corner and saw the parlor filled with strange men dressed in black. Also in the room was their parents and older sister, wearing less than pleased expressions._

"…_make it our mission to purify this country. In order to do that, we must first rid it of it's filth," they heard one the strange men say._

"_That's ridiculous! What makes the Xingese any different from the Amestrians!?" Their father said. The twins looked at each other, curious as to what's going on. _

"_Simple. The Xingese are a separate species, one far inferior to the Amestrians."_

"_A separate species?! We're all human! Amestrians are no better than the Xingese, Ishvalans, Aerugans, or any other race out there!"_

_The strange man sighed, his eyes gleaming with disappointment. _

"_So, all that time you spent in Xing and with that filthy wife of your's really did warp your mind." The men standing around the leader began pulling out weapons, such as knives and thick wooden sticks. "Samuel, for your traitorous words, you will now be silenced."_

_One of the men that held a knife shot forward and stabbed Samuel Mustang in the stomach. Samuel coughed up blood and went down on his knees. His wife, Yang-Sen, screamed and ran to her husband's side._

"_Leave him alone!" she cried out. "He's done nothing to you!"_

_Another man barked out a quick laugh. _

"_Look at the Xingese garbage trying to tell us what to do," he sneered as Yang-Sen was backhanded by the leader._

_The twins were shocked into silence as they watched the scene unfold before them. Some men began pouring gasoline around the parlor and breaking everything in sight while others began beating their mother. Their sister emitted a small cry of pain when one man grabbed her roughly by the arm._

_Finally, the twins had seen enough and they ran into the room. _

"_Stop it!" they said in unison. In the brief moment that the man was distracted, their sister bit him on the arm, causing him to let go. She ran forward and grabbed the twins, pulling them out of the parlor._

"_What were you two thinking, endangering your lives like that?!" she chastised them while she looked around. The front door stood a several meters to her right, but she knew that there would be more men outside, in case one of them tried to run. Same thing for the back door, which was in the kitchen off the main hallway. Also to her right was a staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms. An idea filled her head as she led them upstairs and to her bedroom. _

_Once they were all in her room, she locked the door and ran to the wall on her left. She quickly threw the painting that hung on the wall to the side, revealing a large hole. When the twins got a closer look, they saw it was filled with clothes. It seemed to lead straight into their parent's closet. _

"_Alright, you two. I'm going to lift you through the hole. You first, Roy." _

"_Where exactly did this hole come from?" the other twin asked his sister as she picked Roy up._

"_Remember the time when Catherine was over and you guys heard that loud bang? Let's just say that Cath was pretending the wall was her ex. Your turn, Kade."_

_Once both twins were safely in the hole, she began replacing the painting._

"_Now listen. Do not make a sound, no matter what you hear," she said as the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder. It seemed as if the men had finally ended their destructive torrent and were coming to finish the job._

_As she slid the painting over to it's original position, she smile sadly._

"_You two be good, okay?"_

"_Wait! Liliana, don't-" Roy began to say, but Liliana cut him off. _

"_I'm sorry, but this is just the way things are. Grow up and become strong," she said, silent tears streaming down her face. "Change this country and end the madness._

"_Remember that I love you very much…" Fists began pounding against the door and taunting shouts were heard. "…and goodbye."_

_With that, she sealed the hole completed and ran to the window, opening it up. At that moment, the men finally broke down the door and filed into the room, forming a semi-circle around her._

"_Where are the other two half-blood brats?! I heard you speaking to them!"_

"_They're far from here. They left from this window."_

"_Oh really? Why is it that you'll willingly tell us where they are?"_

"_Because I know that you'll never catch them."_

_Silence filled the room before the man said with a brisk tone: "Kill the girl."_

_On the other side of the painting, the twins covered their ears, trying to block out the world as they heard their sister let out a shrill scream._

'_This can't be happening! It can't be!' Roy thought as his eyes were flooded with tears. "This is all wrong! No! NO!'_

"_NO!"_

Roy shot upwards, his eyes wide and his face paler than usual. He breathed heavily, as if he had just run a marathon. He hung his head, looking down and the blanket he clutched tightly.

Another nightmare. However, this one took place even before his time at the orphanage. He wondered if his conversation with Kade brought it on.

He looked at the clock that stood on his nightstand. It was just pass one o'clock in the morning. Wonderful.

He laid back down, hoping to fall into a dreamless sleep.

This time, he couldn't even fall asleep to begin with. His last dream left him feeling uneasy and paranoid. He sighed, knowing it was going to be another long night.

The uneasy feeling he had felt never went away. Even when the sun finally began to show itself, it was still there.

Roy wasn't sure what all of this meant, but one thing was certain;

Everything was about to change.

* * *

Author's Note~

Me- I'm actually somewhat pleased with this chapter.

Evil Twin- That's a first.

Me- *glares* Anyway, next chapter is going to be Edward-centric, soooo...yay, i guess? Leave a review if you feel like it. If you leave a flame, a ninja will sneak into your house tonight and steal all your food. Buh-bye!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note~

Holy crap! I actually updated this!

That's right, folks. Through blood, sweat, and tears, I was able to pull through and write this chapter. Yay for me!

Disclaimer: Sadly, Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine. I tried to buy it, though. Apparently, three dollars, a seashell, and a dust bunny isn't enough.

* * *

_Chapter 4: Selfless Acts_

After witnessing the reunion of the Mustang twins, Ed and Al excused themselves and left Eastern Command. As they walked back to their hotel, the scene in the office played over and over again in Edward's head.

'How can Mustang just punch his own brother in the face like that when they haven't even seen each other for sixteen years?!' Ed thought. If he and Al were separated for that long, then their reunion would be tear-filled. Unless Edward unintentionally made Alphonse angry or upset. If so, there'd be Hell to pay.

"Brother, what's going on over there?" Alphonse asked, pointing to a crowd that stood to the side.

"I don't know. Let's check it out," Ed replied, already beginning to push through the crowd. Al stayed behind, knowing that he could never squeeze his large form through the crowd without hurting someone. Ed's small body, however, allowed him to easily maneuver through the tight circle of people.

'Good thing I'm small enough to fit. What are all these guys looking at, anyway?' Ed said in his mind.

Wait…did he just call himself small?

Before he can start ranting at himself, he broke through the crowd, allowing him to finally see what the commotion was about. A young woman kneeled over a man, who was sprawled out on the sidewalk. The man appeared to be unconscious and blood covered his face. A car was off to the side, smashed against a pole. All of the windows were broken and the whole front of the car was crushed inwards.

"Does anyone here have medical experience!? This man is in need of help right now!" the woman cried desperately, her head flailing around wildly.

"I do," another man said, emerging from the crowd. He knelt down beside the woman and began examining the injured man. "I work at Eastern Hospital."

The woman began to smile with relief. However, that smile left when the doctor's eyes narrowed at the man's face.

"Is there a problem, doctor?" she asked. The doctor stood up and looked down at the woman.

"There is, actually. I know this man. He's nothing more then a drunk who can barely pay his bills as it is. There is no way he can pay for the surgery that he will require," the doctor said with distaste.

The woman stood up, shock written all over her face.

"Are you kidding me? This man will die without immediate medical attention! You refuse to save him because he won't be able to pay for it!? Is money all you care about!?" she said in disbelief. The doctor did not appear swayed in the least.

"A man who can't contribute to society is nothing more than a burden. No one will miss him. The world will be a much better place without _his kind_," the doctor said, sneering down at the heap on the ground. He suddenly smirked. "Of coarse, if you're willing to pay for him…"

"How much would surgery cost?" she asked, opening up the purse that she held at her side.

"4,694,188 cenz would be the total cost," he replied without hesitation. The woman's eyes widened and her hand dropped from her purse.

"Th-That's ridiculous!" she said in outrage. His smirk only widened.

"Well, the surgery would normally cost 3,520,641 cenz, but considering that today is my day off and you caught me at an unexpected time, I increased the cost by about thirty-three percent. Makes sense, no?"

"But there's no way I can pay that!"

"Your problem. Not mine." With that, the doctor walked away, leaving the injured man and helpless woman behind. The woman gritted her teeth for a second before kneeling down was again and grabbing the man.

"Someone help me!" she yelled out as she pulled one of the man's arms around her neck and tried to lift him up. Edward immediately rushed forward and gripped the other arm, mimicking the woman.

Once the man was up and supported, the woman led them through the crowd without a word. Soon after they made there way out of the crowd, heavy footsteps were heard. Alphonse fell into step behind them.

"Here. Let me take him," Al said, gently pulling the man from their grip. He picked held the man bridal style with ease. The woman was initially startled, but then nodded. The trio began moving at a much faster pace. The woman led the way through streets ands alleys until they finally came upon a small house. As soon as they entered the house, the woman instructed Al to lay the man on the couch, which lay to their right. After the man was deposited on the couch, the woman rushed to him with a brush covered in black ink and a large pair of tweezers. She tore open the man's shirt and used the tweezers to remove any pieces of glass that was buried in the man's body. After all the glass was removed, she painted a circle on a deep gash in his chest.

"Brother! That's…!" Al began saying while nudging Ed.

"Yeah. Alchemy," Ed replied, watching as the woman drew neat, intricate lines inside the circle. When the transmutation circle was complete, she muttered a quick prayer and brought her hands down upon it. A bright, blue light filled the room. The brothers watched as the deep gashes on the man began to heal. When the light finally disappeared, the lady slumped against the couch. The man was now clean of gashes. However, there were still bruises littering his features and the transmutation did nothing to heal the broken bones.

Al looked over at the exhausted-looking lady and asked, "Why wasn't everything healed?"

The woman looking at the two brothers drearily.

"I'm sorry. Healing his external wounds is all that I can do. I've never been to good at alchemy," she replied.

"That's why you wanted the man to be taken to the hospital instead of you just healing him," Ed chimed in. "You can't heal anything on the inside."

"Yeah. That's right," she said as she stood up. "Oh! I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Harley Sandra. Thank-you for helping me out." She smiled warmly at the brothers.

For a brief second, Harley reminded Ed of his own mother. He remembered when he had done his first successful transmutation. The happiness and pride written all over his mother's face. The warmth of her smile…

Ed shook the memories away and came back to reality.

"Don't worry about it, Ms. Sandra," Alphonse said sweetly.

"Yeah, it was no problem at all," Ed continued. "Anyway, we're the Elric brothers. I'm Edwa-"

"Elric brothers? You mean, THE Elric brothers?!" she exclaimed. "I've heard all about you two! Edward Elric, the boy who became a State Alchemist when he was only twelve!"

She grabbed Al's hand and began shaking it while saying excitedly, "I can't believe I got to meet you, Mr. Edward! You have no idea how honored I am!"

"Umm, I'm not Edward. He is!" Al said, pointing at his brother, who looked like a steaming teapot that was going to burst at any second.

Harley blushed and apologized quickly before shaking Ed's hand and saying in a much more calm manner, "Like I said, it's an honor to meet you, Mr. Edward. You are a true hero."

"You don't have to call me "Mr. Elric". And don't worry about mistaking Al for me. People do that all the time."

"I can see why," Harley said while laughing softly. "You're so small that people wouldn't believe you capable of being such a powerful alchemist!"

And just like that, the teapot was once again ready to burst. However, before Edward can let loose one of his patented short rants, the front door opened. In bounced two little girls, each with a bundle of flowers in their hands.

"Mama! Mama! Look at what we have for you!" they said in unison, brandishing the flowers in front of Harley.

Harley smiled and knelt down in front of the girls.

"They're beautiful. Thank-you so much! I'm so lucky to have you two," she said, taking the flowers and smelling the lovely floral aroma that they gave off. The girls grinned widely before turning.

"Mama, who are they?" the older-looking girl asked. The younger one nodded.

"These two are the Elric brothers. They recently helped mama out, so be kind to them."

Harley pointed at the older girl.

"This is Astrid. She's is obviously the older of the two. And this one," she said as she placed a hand on the younger's head. "is Mayli. These two girls are my daughters," she said with pride.

She then glanced over at the clock on the wall and frowned.

"Is something wrong, Ms. Sandra?" Al said, concerned by Harley's sudden change in moods.

"Please. Call me Harley," she said, placing the flowers on the table. "And there's nothing really wrong. It's just that I had a bit of an outing planned for today. A nice young man offered to take me to a nearby café. Normally, the girls would be fine on their own, but I have to watch over the gentleman who was injured."

Both the girls were at the couch. Mayli was currently poking the man that lay on it. Harley quickly herded them away and scolded them.

"We can watch over him and the girls, Harley," Al said. "Ed and I have nothing important that we need to do so we'll gladly help out!"

Harley looked over her shoulder with wide eyes.

"Really? You guys would do that for me?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course we would! Right, brother?" Al said, nudging Ed.

Ed sighed and nodded.

"I guess we can stay. Besides, you look like you need a break, Harley," he muttered.

Harley really did look like she needed some time off. She had dark circles under her eyes and she appeared to be a little stressed out.

Harley burst into a round of thank-you's and ran into one of the other rooms in the house. When she emerged, she was wearing a cute yellow sundress and holding a black purse. After thanking the brothers one final time, she left the house.

Al knelt down in front of the girls and began talking to them.

"Hello! My name is Alphonse. It's nice to meet you two!"

Mayli stared at Al with wide eyes.

"Wow, sir! You're _huge_!" she said in awe.

"I am, aren't I?" he replied, chuckling. "How old are you two?"

Astrid smiled and stepped forward.

"Well, I'm ten and my little sister, Mayli, is five," she said.

"I'm fourteen and my brother over there is fifteen," Al said. "You two are very cute looking."

Both girls grinned and thanked Al.

Al wasn't lying when he said that the girls were cute. Mayli's curly, hazel-colored hair was in two pigtails. Her large, brown eyes were stunning, despite brown being such a common eye-color.

Astrid, on the other hand, had straight, blonde hair like her mother. Over her lovely green eyes was a rectangular pair of glasses. Other than the glasses, Astrid was the splitting image of Harley.

If Al could smile, he definitely would. The sisters quickly charmed Al with their cuteness and curiosity.

Ed sighed. It was obvious that this wasn't going to be the only time that they would see the girls. Within a week, Al would somehow rope Ed into visiting them again. Ed was okay with this, but the first of the two girls to call him short better be prepared.

No matter how old you are, calling him a pipsqueak midget has consequences.

* * *

Author's note~

I know that 4,694,188 cenz seems like a lot, but cenz is the same thing as yen, which is Japanese. 3,520,641 yen equals $29,685. Then, adding another third of that to the cost equals exactly what I put. 4,694,188.

Isn't math just excitng?

Evil twin- Congradulations. You have a brain.

Me- And soon, you will not, for I shall sick my brain-eating bunnies on you. Anyone who leaves a flame in the review section must also face the wrath of the bunnies.

Make sure you leave a non-flame review! I would appreciate it!


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